Edward Purcell, 91 - November 28, 2007

Edward Gordon Purcell, 91, of Arnold died Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.
Services will be held on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 11 a.m. at the Tallin Church south of Arnold. Burial will take place at the Arnold Cemetery at 3 p.m.
Visitation will be held Wednesday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Arnold Funeral Home and will continue from 4-8 p.m. at the Tallin Church.
Purcell was born on July 21, 1916, the first of five children to Ernest and Cora (Kilmer) Purcell, in a sod house built from the grassy prairie of Kilmer Valley in Western Lincoln County.
He attended Prairie View Country School in Kilmer Valley and in 1934 graduated from Arnold High School.
During the Depression, he farmed and ranched with his family. He had traveled as far away as Iowa to pick corn and seek work of any kind.
In the late 1930’s, he moved to Lusk, WY, and worked at the Kilmer Dairy & Creamery, then in the early 1940s returned to Nebraska.
Purcell was united in marriage to Barbara Lindholm of Arnold on Oct. 28, 1945. To this union, four children were born.
He and his wife moved to a small farm just south of the Table Store, and in 1947 purchased his uncle’s farm, where he continued to reside. His wife preceded him in death.
Purcell had farmed and ranched his entire life, but he most enjoyed working with livestock, raising cattle and occasionally hogs, according to family members. He was known for providing fresh eggs to area neighbors. He also worked and clerked at the Arnold Sale Barn from the late 1950’s until its closure in the 1990’s.
After his children were grown, he traveled to places such as the Philippines, Mexico, Hawaii and Arizona, and enjoyed seeing how other cultures live, said family members. In 1988, he met and formed a relationship with Lucille Ritz. The couple attended many dances and traveled to numerous places including Puerto Rico, Alaska, Canada, Washington, D.C., and the Panama Canal.
Purcell also enjoyed country and gospel music and dancing. He taught himself how to play a guitar by correspondence, according to family members. Together with his cousins, Butch and Mike Kilmer, he often played for family and friends as well as local barn dances.
He was preceded in death by: his parents, Ernest and Cora; his wife, Barbara; brother, Wilbur; step-sister, Zolmia Horn; brother-in-law, Wayne Maline; daughter-in-law, Martha Purcell; two great-grandchildren.
Survivors include: companion, Lucille Ritz of North Platte; two daughters—Linda Zoucha of Phoenix, AZ, and Debbie (Fudge) Fajardo of Mililani Town, Hawaii; two sons—Gene of Arnold and Lane (Patty) of Rexford, KS; brother, Duane (Eliene) of Phoenix; two sisters—Betty (LeLand) Larreau of Hershey and Bonnie Maline of Gothenburg; sister-in-law, Carmen Purcell of Mexico; 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Memorials are suggested to the Tallin Church building fund.

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